WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 26-year-old Wichita man has been sentenced in the stabbing death of his girlfriend after a judge denied his motion to withdraw an earlier guilty plea.
Dylan Barber photo Sedgwick Co.
Dylan Barber was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole for 50 years for the June 2018 death of 22-year-old MacKenzie Payne, an Emporia native.
Barber pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in February as part of plea deal but filed a motion in April to withdraw the plea.
Sedgwick County District Court Judge Jeffrey Goering on Monday denied that motion before sentencing Barber.
Police say officers went to a Wichita apartment after Barber called to say he had harmed his girlfriend. Payne was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering several stab wounds.
AUGUSTA – One night after collecting 17 hits in a 10-1 rout of Wellington, the Hays Larks were held to four hits and shut out 4-0 by the Heat forcing a second and decisive title game at KCLB Post-Season Tournament at Rodney Wheeler Stadium.
It’s the first time the Larks have been shut out since June 14, 2018, when they lost 3-0 in game one of a doubleheader at Derby.
Wellington (28-13-1) scored three runs in the second inning which was all Hayden Woosley needed as he held the Larks to three singles over the first seven innings.
The Larks (31-10) best scoring chance came in the fifth when Jerrod Belbin and Max McGuire led off the inning with back-to-back singles. After Grant Lung popped up and was out on an infield fly, Belbin stole third and McGuire followed into second. Wyatt Divis followed with a fly out then Justin Lee grounded into a fielders choice to end the inning.
Belbin had two of the Larks four hits which were all singles.
Ryan Ruder (5-2) allowed three runs on seven hits over six innings with four strikeouts and three walks.
The second and deciding title game is Tuesday at 7pm in Augusta with the winner receiving the KCLB’s automatic spot in the First Week of the NBC World Series which begins Saturday at Eck Stadium in Wichita.
Department of Children and Families Sec. Laura Howard and Department of Health and Environment Sec. Lee Norman announce a KDHE employee who will process Medicaid applications will be located in the DCF office in Hays.
Kansas Department for Children and Families Secretary Laura Howard and Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Dr. Lee Norman Monday announced at the Hays DCF office a new partnership that will locate KDHE employees in DCF offices.
KDHE is moving processing of Medicaid applications from a private contractor back under state control. It will take a year to completely make the transition. Eventually 350 once private employees will be employed by KDHE.
Thirty KDHE employees who will determine eligibility for Medicaid will now be located in 17 DCF offices across the state. One of these employees will be in the Hays DCF office. The Hays and Wichita offices will be the first to receive the KDHE employees as of this week.
Howard and Norman said in a press release that the move will foster collaboration around the KanCare application process for the elderly and people with disabilities. It is also designed to improve efficiencies and expand the reach of both agencies.
“This is just one way we want to bring a high-touch approach back for Kansas citizens,” Howard said during the press conference.
Norman said, “We’re pulling a bunch of these services back into the state to provide more customer service.”
Norman said in the press conference most Medicaid applications are being processed in the 45 days required by federal law. However, he said he hopes the changes will improve approval times beyond the federal standards.
“I’ve always believed that our DCF offices can be an important connection point for Kansans who need services,” Howard said in the news release. “This new partnership is a first step in providing a more efficient experience for those who need assistance with the complicated KanCare application process.”
“As an agency, we are continually looking for opportunities to collaborate and improve the stakeholder experience,” Norman said in a news release. “By co-locating, we are making good use of existing state office space and extending our reach across the state.”
Elderly and disabled KanCare applications are among the most complex. Under the new partnership, KDHE employees will initially spend most of their time processing home and community-based service applications.
“These complicated cases take a special approach,” Norman said. “You wouldn’t go to a family physician, necessarily, to have a brain tumor removed. You would go to someone who is highly specialized in that area. The population that Sec. Howard spelled out is a group that needs a specialist in that area. There is a fairly lengthy training process involved in that.”
The KDHE employees also will be available to work with DCF staff on complicated cases. Once the full transition is complete in mid-2020, it is expected that KDHE staff will be able to meet face to face with Kansans who need help navigating the KanCare application process.
“I believe this collaboration with DCF will result in positive outcomes for Kansans,” Norman said in the news release.
Norman said during the press conference Monday KDHE is also working to update technology to make the KanCare application process more efficient. He said the system is still requesting information through fax, and most people no longer use fax machines.
Other offices that will have KDHE employees include:
Kansas City and Overland Park in August
Emporia, Great Bend and Newton in September
Manhattan and Pittsburg in October
Atchison, Chanute and Salina in November
Dodge City, Garden City, Hutchinson and Liberal in December
Independence in Jan. 2020
As more KDHE staff are hired, the agencies plan to expand to other DCF offices that have available space.
“I’ve heard first hand from our workers how excited they are to have KDHE staff in the same office,” Howard said in the news release. “We know this is an important step in helping Kansans connect with services that are vital to their well-being.”
HUTCHINSON — A 19-year-old man reported to police just after 3 p.m. Sunday that he had been battered while in the 1300 block of North Main in Hutchinson. During the struggle with at least two individuals, he was robbed of his cellphone.
Dominguez photo Reno Co.
According to police, the man was confronted by a juvenile male in a dispute over money. That led to an argument and violence. The victim was struck in the back of the head, fell and was then kicked numerous times. He was taken to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center for treatment of a broken nose and other bruising to his body.
Police arrested Diana Dominguez for aggravated robbery, aggravated battery and theft. It’s believed she drove the juvenile to and from the altercation.
Dominguez is jailed on a $55,500 bond and will be back in court next week once the state has filed any formal charges.
We have about five months, if we pay attention, to get a good idea of just what the upcoming Legislature is likely to consider doing for us—or to us—in the session that will precede next year’s elections for every member of the House and Senate.
Yep, they’re all going to be on the ballot, and if there is a key to re-election it is passing, or at least voting to pass, laws that we’ll like. Or, of course, voting against bills that we don’t like, but someone, somewhere, thinks is a good idea.
The regimen of interim committees that will start this month or next will give us our first peek at just what we have to look out for next winter.
The interims don’t pass laws, or even bills, they just study and hear arguments for and against issues that will likely become bills. While they are public meetings anyone can wander into or listen to over the Internet, most Kansans don’t know much about them or just what legislators do when they come to Topeka out of session.
Well, a big issue that is going to be chewed through is, of course, the possibility of Medicaid expansion: First, the Senate interim committee—which essentially just knows what it read in the papers about the House passing expansion—then the Special Committee on Medicaid Expansion with both House and Senate members.
Key to that process: Probably to try to assemble an expansion bill. Or…to figure out just how the lawmakers who oppose Medicaid expansion can be convinced that it will affect so few people that they can probably look the other way briefly for at least one vote or two, and pass it.
But interim committees are also going to consider legalizing marijuana, probably just for those who can convince their doctor to prescribe it or who can make the point that they’re getting old enough that they represent a solid revenue stream for those doctors so that they will… Chances of general legalization? Slim, but we’ll be watching that medical marijuana proposal to see just how far it will stretch without bogarting that roach…
Medicaid aside, a health interim committee is going to try to figure out why health care is so expensive in Kansas and whether there’s some way to make it cheaper. Look for that to stretch into tele-medicine where you essentially talk over the Internet with a health-care provider who lives outside your Zip code or county or congressional district or maybe even state line. Doesn’t work if you’re bleeding, but chances are good that telemedicine will be part of the key to dropping the out-of-pocket, or at least out-of-insurer’s pocket, expenses.
Oh, and for those of you who watched flood waters creep toward the porch, a committee is going to try to figure out how government at all levels can work together to avoid flooding or at least how to get help to voters and business owners more quickly when the water recedes enough that you don’t need a life jacket to retrieve your newspaper.
Yes, a lot of topics, and a total of 52 days of hearings approved so far…some that will yield proposed legislation, many that will just let lawmakers know how state government is running while they’re out of town and paying for their own lunches instead of gazing at the ceiling while lobbyists buy their meals and drinks.
Those interim committees are also where ideas good and bad are sifted, and they’ll to a large degree determine just what we watch the Legislature debate next session. But some of us remember when the preview was better than the movie. And for many issues, the interim committee is the preview…
Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com
The Senior Companion Program, sponsored by Fort Hays State University, will celebrate 45 years of service in communities throughout western Kansas with a brunch buffet on Thursday at the Rose Garden Banquet Hall in Hays. Senior Companions, dignitaries and guests from throughout the 14 county service area of the program will attend the celebration.
The program, established in 1974 at Fort Hays Kansas State College was one of 18 original projects, and the first in the nation to be sponsored by an institution of higher education. The program began with 60 volunteers serving frail elderly in a five county service area of western Kansas. With a mission to provide needed community service to frail adults through life enriching volunteer opportunities for limited income adults, Fort Hays received a grant in the amount of $146,108 from ACTION, the federal volunteer agency.
An August 6, 1974 news release stated, “To be a Senior Companion, the applicant must be 60 years old or older, have an income of less than $2,330 per year, work a maximum of 20 hours a week, five days weekly….The pay schedule is $1.60 stipend an hour, 50 cents allowance for transportation….”
Dr. John Gustad, College President selected Dr. Calvin Harbin, then Dean of Instruction to administer the Program. Dr. Harbin remains an ardent supporter and advocate for the Program. Mr. Howard Sloan was the first Director and established SCP as a successful model for other areas in the country.
Since its inception in 1974 seniors, age 55 and better, dedicate their time and talents helping frail, disabled and homebound adults in Barton, Ellis, Ford, Gove, Graham, Hodgeman, Logan, Ness, Pawnee, Phillips, Rooks, Rush, Russell and Trego counties.
Senior Companion volunteers respond to personal needs of frail adults by helping their clients with daily living activities so they may remain in their homes. They support families by providing respite care for those who give 24 hour support in caregiving roles. More than 300 adults throughout the service area receive the cost-free services of Senior Companion volunteers.
The Senior Companion Program is funded by the Corporation for National & Community Service, Washington, DC and sponsored by Fort Hays State University. Ellis, Gove, Pawnee, Rooks, Rush, Russell and Trego counties and the cities of Ellis, Victoria and WaKeeney also provide financial support.
For information about the Senior Companion Program call 785-628-5809.
The Ellis County Joint Planning Commission will hold its monthly meeting along with a Public Hearing on Wednesday. The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at 718 Main in the commission chambers.
Contact the Ellis County Zoning Office at 785-628-9449 for more information.
On Wednesday, Robert Mueller, Special Counsel investigator into possible Trump collusion with Russia to win the 2016 presidency, appears (reluctantly) before two congressional House committees. He does not want to testify. He knows there’s a lot in his final 448-page report that makes no sense. Democrats, with their unadulterated hatred for Trump, are praying for some miracle in his testimony that will lead to impeachment.
The testimony during this hearing may be one of the most interesting in recent American history. It may be a bombshell, possibly one that back fires, maybe a nothing burger. But you can bet a major portion of America will be watching!
Mueller tried six ways to Sunday every week for two years in ousting President Trump for collusion with Russia. He spent 30 million tax dollars, hired an army of Clinton connected lawyers, umpteen witnesses and subpoenas, etc. Nothing worked.
Dirty cop Mueller took on the Special Council job on a whim that Trump colluded. There never was any evidence of collusion to begin with, but the Never Trumpers insisted on an investigation based on speculation and wishful thinking. No good cop takes on an investigation where there isn’t even a crime. The left was hoping for a collusion crime created out of thin air and Mueller was right there to oblige.
After two years of investigating, our cop, several months ago, gave his final report. He found no Trump collusion, but unprofessionally insinuated there might have been. He did the same with obstruction of justice, therefore, he gave House Democrats in congress crumbs, so to speak, to continue the investigation. A black mark with a part of Congress, like no other time in American history, becoming primarily an investigative body to take out a president, while its primary legislative function goes by the wayside.
No collusion and no clear obstruction in the final report should have put this entire hoax to bed, but the beat goes on with the Wednesday hearing.
During his investigation, Mueller indicted some 30 people making it look like Trump and associates were guilty, but none of the indictments had anything to do with Trump’s supposed collusion with Russia. Liberal media brought up the indictments constantly insinuating guilt for collusion. Dirty cop Mueller, unethically and immorally, ruined many lives in the process for no good reason. He buried these people in questionable legality when they refused to give him dirt on Trump. Mueller has a history of unprofessional and unethical prosecutions many of which have been overturned.
The biggest (among many) bombshell in Mueller’s 448 page off the wall final report is the complete omission of the indisputable and incontrovertible evidence that Hillary, the Democrat Party, the FBI and CIA in unison actually did the colluding with Russia to affect the election, and it’s all tied into the Trump collusion narrative. It is virtually impossible to investigate one party’s collusion without constantly coming across the other.
As readers tune into the Wednesday hearing, keep in mind Mueller’s shady past. I only scratched the surface of a man high up in the chain of American justice that makes us look like a third world country. Call it American injustice. Mueller is actually part of the deep state doing everything possible to destroy a Trump presidency.
Thank God the literal attempted coup didn’t work, and hold on to your seats as justice is finally served in this country by new leadership that loves America.
TOPEKA – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation released an update on the progress of their task force investigating allegations of sexual misconduct by members of the Catholic clergy in Kansas.
The KBI initiated the investigation in February 2019, at the request of Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt. When announcing the start of the investigation, they asked Kansans to report to them any victimization by members of the clergy, church employees, church volunteers, or any others in positions of authority within the church.
Since the launch of the investigation, the KBI has received 119 reports from victims who have contacted them related to recent or past sexual abuse committed by clergy members. Following these reports, task force agents have initiated 74 investigations in 33 different Kansas counties.
The KBI continues to take reports of sexual abuse via phone at 1-800-KS-CRIME, or by email at [email protected]. Victims are asked to report all incidents of sexual abuse that involve a member of the clergy, no matter how long ago the incident occurred, and even if it was previously reported to law enforcement or the church.
SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a weekend shooting and have a suspect in custody.
Logan photo Shawnee Co.
Just before 11:55 p.m. Saturday, the Shawnee County Emergency Communications Center received a call about a possible shooting in the 1200 block of SW Polk in Topeka, according to Lt. Andrew Beightel.
At the scene, officers located a man with a gunshot wound to the head, and a second man with a head injury.
Initial information suggests there was a dispute between the two injured men just prior to the physical conflict. Both men were transported to a local hospital for treatment, and their injuries are considered non-life threatening.
On Monday, police reported 41-year-old John Douglas Logan, 41, of Topeka, was booked into Shawnee County Department of Corrections on charges of aggravated battery and criminal possession of a firearm by a felon. The victim remains at a local hospital in stable condition.
Logan has previous convictions for aggravated assault and criminal discharge of a firearm, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Trump administration is expanding the authority of immigration officers to deport migrants without requiring them to appear before judges ahead of deportation.
The Homeland Security Department said Monday that fast-track deportations will apply to anyone in the country illegally less than two years.
Until now those deportations applied only to people caught crossing the U.S. border by land and not entering by boat or plane.
The department says the expansion “expedited removal” authority will allow it to more efficiently pursue large numbers of people in the country illegally and promptly remove them.
Omar Jawdat of the American Civil Liberties says his group and the American Immigration Council will challenge the measure in court.
The announcement came a week after the administration adopted a major policy shift to limit asylum.
SEDGWICK COUNTY— Police are investigating a shooting early Monday.
Police on the scene of the Monday shooting investigation -photo courtesy . KWCH
Just before 12:30a.m. Monday, police responded to report of a shooting in the 5800 Block of East Pine Street in Wichita, according to officer Paul Cruz.
Upon arrival, police located a 43-year-old man who had been shot multiple times. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, according to Cruz.
The victim told police he was sitting out on his porch when unknown suspects approached on foot and shot him. There were three teenagers and a 36-year-old woman at the home at the time of the shooting.
Cruz did not release the victim’s name. Anyone with information is asked to contact police.
